E. Equatoria state witnesses birth of headless goat

June 1, 2014 (TORIT) – Panic and fear gripped residents of Torit, the capital of South Sudan’s Eastern Equatoria state, when a goat produced a headless young one over the weekend.

The headless young goat produced in Torit county May 31, 2014 (ST)

Lodai Gasmiro, the goat owner, told Sudan Tribune he was equally shocked by the incident, which residents described as bad omen.

“I got into the kraal in the morning only to find the baby goat lying dead on the ground. I picked it up and brought it outside as the news spread around residential areas and hundreds turned up to witness the strange born goat without the head”, said Gasmiro.

“The headless young goat was born with all the body parts accept the head, but it had long ears like that of a hyena” he added

He said it was the first time such an abnormality had occurred among his goats, adding that most of them often delivered normally.

Meanwhile, the state veterinary doctor, Jackson Luka urged residents not to raise alarm over the matter, however strange it was.

“The anomalies might have been caused by internal effects to the mother of the goat [hence] affecting the normal growth of the young inside its mother”, said Luka.

He further explained such incidences usually happen either due to some external or internal effects that might have affected the development of the young goat as well as cross breeding and genes that might have not gone well with the fetus, prior to birth.

The veterinary also related the strange incident to humans, saying some mothers often give birth to children with additional fingers.

Davidika Ikai, a member of Ituka women association in Torit, urged citizens in the state to desist from overhyping the matter, saying anything strange that occurs in the state was God’s plan.